The present invention is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-169254, which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a half fit preventive connector which not only can prevent a set of male and female connectors to be fitted and connected with each other from being imperfectly fitted with each other using the repulsion force of a spring member mounted on at least one of the connector housings of the male and female connectors but also can prevent the spring member from being fatigued using a simple structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there are known various kinds of half fit preventive connectors which prevent the imperfect fit between the male and female connectors using the repulsion force of a spring member mounted on a connector housing (which is hereinafter referred to as a housing simply). For example, as shown in FIGS. 8 to 13, there is known a half fit preventive connector which is disclosed in JP-U-4-24277. According to a conventional half fit preventive connector shown FIGS. 8 and 9, in the center of the bottom portion of a housing 55 of a female connector 53 which is one of a set of male and female connectors 52, 53 to be fitted and connected with each other, there is mounted a spring member 56. That is, the present half fit preventive connector 51 prevents the imperfect fit between the male and female connectors 52 and 53 due to the repulsion force of the spring member 56.
And, the male connector 52 includes a lock arm 60 which not only is supported on a support pillar 59 erected on the leading end portion of a housing 54 but also includes a securing projection 61 disposed on the intermediate portion of the upper portion thereof and a pair of pressing parts 62 disposed on the rear end portion thereof. Also, the female connector 53 includes a slide plate 65 which is supported on the upper portion of the front end of the housing 55 and allows the securing projection 61 to slide onto the lower surface thereof and, in the rear end portion of the slide plate 65, there is formed a securing groove 66 to which the securing projection 61 can be secured.
Thus, the present half fit preventive connector 51, when fitting together the male and female connectors 52 and 53, cooperates together with the spring member 56 in causing the lock arm 60 to flex to thereby secure the securing projection 61 to the securing groove 66 of the female connector 53, so that the male and female connectors 52 and 53 can be perfectly fitted with each other.
Also, the spring member 56, as shown in FIG. 10, includes as a base portion thereof an elastically flexible part 67 which is formed of a coiled spring; and, the elastically flexible part 67 includes a support arm 57 which is extended from one end thereof obliquely backward in a linear manner and can be rotated in the fitting direction of the male and female connectors 52 and 53. And, in the spring member 56, there is disposed a resilient piece 58 which is curved from the support arm 57 so as to return toward the base portion of the elastically flexible part 67.
And, the spring member 56 further includes a mounting arm 68 which not only is extended from the other end thereof backward in a linear manner but also includes a reversed-pawl-shaped projection 69. The mounting arm 68 is inserted into a mounting hole 70 of a mounting part 71 provided in one housing 55 and retained by the reversed-pawl-shaped projection 69 so as to prevent removal of the mounting arm 68 from the mounting part 71.
And, In the housing 54 of the male connector 52, there is formed a terminal storage chamber 63 for storing a terminal such as a female-type terminal and, in the front-end opening portion of the terminal storage chamber 63, there is formed a spring contact portion 64 with which the resilient piece 58 can be contacted. By the way, in the rear portion of the housing 55 of the female connector 53, there is formed a terminal storage chamber 72 for storing a terminal such as a male-type terminal.
In the above-structured half fit preventive connector 51, as shown in FIG. 8, firstly, the spring member 56 is mounted onto the mounting part 71 disposed within one housing 55 and, after then, a male-type terminal with the end portion of a covered electric wire connected thereto is inserted and mounted into the terminal storage chamber 72. Also, into the terminal storage chamber 63 formed within the other housing 54, there is inserted and mounted a female-type terminal to which the end portion of a covered electric wire is connected.
Next, as shown in FIG. 11, the male and female connectors 52 and 53 are opposed to each other and their mutual fitting operation is started. Specifically, the housing 54 of the male connector 52 is fitted into the housing 55 of the female connector 53 and the resilient piece 58 including the support arm 57 of the spring member 56 is brought into contact with the spring contact portion 64 of the housing 54. As a result, the support arm 57 is pushed down against its elasticity, while the resultant repulsion force gradually increases a push-back force to push back the male connector 52 in the anti-fitting direction (that is, in the opposite direction to the fitting direction).
And, as the connector fitting operation advances as shown in FIG. 12, the securing projection 61 penetrates under the lower surface of the slide plate 65 to thereby flex the lock arm 60 downward. Also, while being contacted with the spring contact portion 64, the leading end portion of the resilient piece 58 gradually presses against the male connector 52 in the anti-fitting direction. In this stage, in case where the fitting force is eased, the male and female connectors 52 and 53 are separated from each other, thereby being able to prevent the imperfect fit between them.
Further, in case where the connector fitting operation advances as shown in FIG. 13, when the securing projection 61 passes through under the lower surface of the slide plate 65 and is then secured to the securing groove 66, the resilient piece 58 is sufficiently pushed down to thereby enter under the lower surface of the housing 54, so that the male and female connectors 52 and 53 are perfectly fitted with each other. At the then time, although the energizing force thereof to push up the male connector 52 is large, since the resilient piece 58 is inclined almost horizontally, the component of the force to push back the male connector 52 in the anti-fitting direction is negligible.
Further, to remove the connector fitted state, in case where the pressing parts 62 are pressed down with fingers, the lock arm 60 is flexed and the securing projection 61 is thereby removed from the securing groove 66; and, therefore, in case where the housings 54 and 55 of the male and female connectors 52 and 53 are pulled in the separating direction, they can be easily separated from each other. At the then time, since the resilient piece 58 holding the repulsion force is contacted with the leading end portion of the spring contact portion 64, the fit removing force can be increased.
However, in the above-mentioned conventional half fit preventive connector 51, in the perfectly fitted state, the resilient piece 58 including the support arm 57 of the spring member 56 is always pushing up the male connector 52 while the resilient piece 58 remains flexed. This raises a problem that the male connector 52 can be damaged and the spring member 56 can be fatigued.
The present invention aims at eliminating the above problem found in the conventional half fit preventive connector. Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a highly reliable half fit preventive connector which, in the perfectly fitted state, not only can prevent the connector against damage but also can prevent the spring member from being fatigued.
In attaining the above object, according to the invention, there is provided a half fit preventive connector comprising:
a set of male and female connector to be fitted and connected with each other; a spring member accommodated within the one connector, the spring member provided with a resilient piece supported on a support arm rotatable in the axial direction of the one connector and an elastic flexible part for urging the support arm so as to rotate in the axial direction of the one connector; a securing groove formed on the upper surface of the one connector; a lock arm formed on the upper surface of the other connector, provided with a securing projection disposed on an intermediate portion thereof and a pressing part formed on the rear end portion thereof; a spring contact projection provided on a front end portion in a side surface of the other connector; and an escape space formed in rear side of the spring contact projection; wherein the resilient piece urges the other connector in the opposite direction to the connector fitting direction when the one and other connectors are half fitted with each other, and the resilient piece returns back to its free state through the escape space and the securing projection on the lock arm is secured by the securing groove of the one connector when the male and female connectors are perfectly fitted with each other.
Further, in the above half fit preventive connector, preferably, the spring member may include a mounting arm which can be mounted onto the one connector.
According to the above-structured half fit preventive connector, on the front end portion of the side surface of the other connector housing, there is disposed a spring contact projection including in the rear portion thereof an escape space on which the resilient piece can slide when the male and female connectors are half fitted with each other and also through which the resilient piece can return back to its free state when the male and female connectors are perfectly fitted with each other.
Therefore, in the connector perfectly fitted state, the spring member is held in its free state, which not only can prevent the spring member from being fatigued but also can prevent the connector against damage, thereby being able to enhance the reliability of the connector.
Also, in case where the spring member includes, on one end of an elastically flexible part thereof, the resilient piece supported laterally on the support arm rotatable in both of connector fitting and anti-fitting directions and, on the other end of the elastic flexible part, a mounting arm which can be mounted onto the other connector housing, only the resilient piece can be contacted with the spring contact projection with no interference by the support arm.
Therefore, since the spring member can be returned back to its free state while dodging the spring contact projection, the spring member can be held in its free state in both of the connector perfectly fitted state and connector fit removed state using a simple structure. Thus, the efficiency of the connector fitting operation can be enhanced.